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The not-so-definitive Country Life guide to buying a car

James Fisher

Need to transport a falcon to Scotland? Drive the kids to school? Cruise silently on a beach? Escape from James Bond? These are all important questions. We have some of the answers.

Best car for the school run: Volvo XC60

If in doubt, go Swedish. The staple of the school run for generations, Volvo makes cars of immense practicality and, most importantly, safety. They also look nice and drive well. Five seats, plenty of space in the boot and a good driving position. ‘Designed to simplify and improve your life,’ they say. We can agree with that.

Best car for doing the school run with dogs: Volvo XC90

As above, but bigger. First introduced in 2002, the XC90 is the ultimate people mover. Jeremy Clarkson has owned three and once described it as ‘designed by someone who must’ve had children due to its practicality’. Like him or loathe him, he does know a thing or two about cars.

Best car to drive from London to Scotland with all your sporting gear, some dogs and a falcon: Bentley Bentayga

Bentley was one of the first luxury car companies to realise there was a market for swish SUVs that can go very, very quickly. The Bentayga has been around for a while and combines sporting practicality with speed and comfort. You’ll be at the House of Bruar in no time, feeling refreshed. They’re customisable — if you have your own falcon (or can borrow one), there is an in-car falconry kit available.

Best first car: Volkswagen Polo

What else? The ultimate ‘starter car’, Polos are easy to drive, practical, economical, cheap and when your child inevitably dings it, easy to fix. The only issue is trying to remember which one is yours in the university halls car park.

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Best car for driving extremely quickly with golf clubs in the boot: McLaren GTS

Late for a tee-time? The McLaren GTS has you covered. First things first, some stats — twin-turbocharged V8 engine spitting out 626bhp; 0–62mph in 3.2 seconds; top speed 203mph; room for two sets of golf clubs in the boot. It’s odd to think of a McLaren as practical, but the GTS is as good as it gets when combining everyday use with eye-watering speed and performance. It only weighs 1,520kg, too.

Best EV for everyday living: Polestar 2

You might see more Teslas on the road, but the Polestar is a far superior car. One of the first mass-produced EVs out there, the Polestar 2 looks fantastic, has great range (up to 406 miles, they say), is simple and comfortable to drive and has absolutely nothing to do with Elon Musk. It is everything you want a four-door saloon to be, which is basically a car you don’t have to think about.

Best EV that’s an SUV: Lotus Eletre

One wonders what Colin Chapman might make of Lotus today, but the once-struggling Norfolk car maker has been reborn in recent years. A radical new direction, focused on high-performance EVs, has yielded exceptional results. The Eletre is the firm’s SUV offering. It is ridiculously fast, looks fantastic, has acres of room inside and is extremely comfortable. I do not have enough room here to describe how good it is. It can also go off-road, if you’re into that kind of thing.

Best EV to park at your own helipad: Rolls-Royce Spectre

Rolls-Royce’s first all-electric car. It costs from £330,000. It looks like the Batmobile. Nuff said.

Best car for the city: Vauxhall Corsa

Driving a car in a city such as London, with its myriad public-transport options, always strikes me as a bit silly. However, if it must be done, look no further than the fantastic Vauxhall Corsa. Gone are the days of this car being the poster boy of the McDonald’s car park-racing scene; instead, it’s a small car that’s simple to drive, easy to park and has great visibility and range. I particularly like the electric ‘E’ version.

Best car for the countryside: Suzuki Ignis

A big category this — and a big decision. But the Suzuki Ignis has it all. Off-road capabilities that mean it can get around; it’s cheap to buy and run. Fantastic gruff looks and it’s not too big, either, so driving around narrow country lanes won’t fill you with terror. Adorable, but a hard worker, like a trusty spaniel.

Best car that is an old Land Rover Defender: Twisted Defender

The first Twisted Defender I ever drove was a 110 wheelbase with a Corvette V8 in it. When I asked Twisted founder Charlie Fawcett why he made a Defender with a Corvette engine, he said: ‘Because I could’ — which is a good answer. The Yorkshire-based company has been restoring, rebuilding and remaking the classic Defender for 24 years. It’s a simple formula — taking Britain’s best-loved cars and making them better. Most have ‘normal’ engines. Some are electric.

Best car that is a new Land Rover Defender: The new Land Rover Defender

I suppose they aren’t ‘new’ anymore, but Land Rover’s Defender is a phenomenal piece of machinery. An off-roader without comparison, it also runs brilliantly on normal roads. Land Rover’s plan was to keep what made the original so admired and add everyday comfort. The designers succeeded.

Best car that is like a Land Rover Defender, but isn’t a Land Rover Defender: Jeep Wrangler

Gen Eisenhower said that the Second World War could not have been won without the Willy’s Jeep. From that DNA, the Jeep Wrangler was born. The latest iteration is a rugged, tough-looking off-roader that tries as hard as it can to keep that war-winning practicality where it can. You can peel bits of the roof off. You can remove the doors. It looks fantastic. A cigarette lighter and an ashtray come as standard. Can go anywhere.

Best grand tourer: Bentley Continental GT

This grand old dame of the road has been around since 2003 and seems to get better with every passing year. The styling looks sublime, the engine is phenomenal and it is ludicrously comfortable to drive, devouring miles like a loose labrador in a butcher’s shop. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

Best car if you like driving: Caterham

There are many different kinds of Caterham, but they are all great. You sit an inch above the road, you can feel every bump, every corner, every thing. A Caterham will remind you that driving is supposed to be fun. In one, 40mph feels like 100mph and even menial tasks, such as ‘going to get a pint of milk’, are tremendously entertaining. If you are short on cash, you can build it yourself, too.

Best car for being Bond: An Aston Martin

A DB12 should do. In British Racing Green.

Best car for chasing Bond: Jaguar

The F-type looks suitably evil. In red or black.

Best Porsche: 911

You’ve decided to buy a Porsche. You may have seen such cars as ‘Boxsters’ or ‘Caymans’ or ‘Panameras’ driving around with a Porsche badge on them. You might think these are Porsches. You are incorrect. There is only one Porsche and it is the 911. In a perfect world, when you walk into a Porsche dealership and ask ‘Can I buy a Porsche?’, the only answer you should hear is: ‘Certainly, in what colour?’

Best car for the beach: Mini Moke

The 1960s classic has returned to our shores, specifically our shorelines. Impress your friends by driving this road-legal dune buggy around the coastal villages of Britain, preferably filled with surf boards or whatever it is that cool people need at the beach. These days, they are electric only — Moke gone woke?

Best car for less than £20,000: Dacia Duster

There are lots of great cars here, but if we must come crashing back towards reality (at least in my case), if you gave me £20,000 I would buy the Dacia Duster. This Romanian manufacturer has long produced that most enviable of things: cheap, reliable, functional cars. The Duster is surprisingly compact (for an SUV), will go anywhere and is endlessly sturdy. The ultimate all-rounder, for a sensible price.